


I'll Follow You To Hell If I Can Hold Your Hand

by RageAgainstTheNormal



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Boys Kissing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Post-Canon, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 07:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6146123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RageAgainstTheNormal/pseuds/RageAgainstTheNormal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spirit and Stein, injured from the battle of Medusa return to nervously watch for any signs of Maka and the others defeating the Kishin. In times of Spirit's nervousness, Stein tries to comfort him, even though he's fighting madness. </p><p>Three weeks later, after the fight is said is done, and all seems to be normal, Spirit pays madness and pain ridden Stein a visit, returning the favor of comforting him. </p><p>(AKA: A plotless fluffy story of Stein and Spirit, the two cuddling, kissing, and being sappy cinnamon rolls for once.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Follow You To Hell If I Can Hold Your Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NiamhNotIshleen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiamhNotIshleen/gifts).



> This was tons of fun to write!~ I love these too so much, and besides, who doesn't need Stein/Spirit cuddles and kisses?
> 
> Note: This was written in one day, and a surprise for my beta, so there will be mistakes. If you see any glaring ones, please point them out! Don't be shy! Also, this is slightly OOC, considering Stein isn't generally a 'romantic' person. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Soul eater or any of it's beautiful characters. I own only the story.
> 
> Also, the title is from Bring Me The Horizon's song, Follow You. (Good shit tbh.)

Everything burned. His mind burned, his insides grated. Pain. _Madness._ Stein didn’t like it. Everyone knew he was the one most likely to be affected by the madness in the town, to suffer under all of the insanity. With Asura awakening fully, and the other monsters stirring, everything was full of the darkness. It made it even worse after the fight with Medusa. Spirit was hurt, Stein was still suffering through the madness left in his body, and Lord Death was severely injured. Maka, Soul, Black Star, Death the Kid, and Tsubaki were all fighting the Kishin. Everything was a mess. But, for the good of the day, Stein had gained back his weapon. The meister and weapon pair were back together again, even if they both were overly affected from the events in the last few weeks. Stein was a mess internally, cautious about everything he went near now. Spirit was a mess externally, injured from the fight with Medusa, his arm wrapped in a cast, and side bandaged.

The air was tense. Lord Death was slowly regenerating, and other weapons watched the screen nervously. They couldn’t see anything. Maka, everyone… They were in harm. Spirit was stiff, his good arm clenching the fabric of his shirt for dear life. His _daughter_ was fighting, and he couldn’t help. She was fighting a Kishin. Spirit was terrified, to say the least.

Stein was shaking, ever so slightly. He wasn’t covered in blood anymore, but the scars still covered his skin from the battle. Slowly, but surely, the pain and madness was sinking away. The burning was still there, the paranoia was still lingering in his mind, and the madness still stung his insides. His vision was hazy, but even so, he could see his weapon also trembling, knelt down on the ground, eyes fixated on the orb that the Kishin had created, the one Maka was inside. Spirit’s eyes were filled with worry, hesitation, but the want to fight. Surely, it was the want to help Maka in the fight. Carefully, Stein knelt down beside his weapon, lifting a pale hand to rest on his good shoulder.

Spirit flinched at the sudden touch, eyes darting to rest on Stein’s glasses, and the glint of light in one lens. “Stein?” The weapon questioned, confusion in his voice.

Stein was conflicted momentarily. He wasn’t good with words, let alone words of encouragement. What the hell could he say? “She’ll be okay. If she fights like you, Maka will be fine. All we can do is hope, and don’t worry ourselves sick. She can’t lose you, Spirit.” Stein said, stopping himself from saying anything more. Frankly, he needed his weapon too.

Spirit was silent for a moment, before lifting his good hand to gently place a hand on Stein’s. “You’re right,” The red haired man finally murmured, letting out a soft breath. Blue eyes focusing on green ones, Spirit spoke again. “Is it all gone? The pain?”

Of course, Stein lied. His weapon was in enough mental turmoil, and his arm had to hurt too. “Yeah. It’s gone. Let’s focus on getting you better, hmm? I’m sure Maka wants to see her father well too,” Stein replied, crouching down next to the male, gently squeezing his shoulder. The soft smile shared between them for the briefest moment was enough. For that small moment, the pain truly was gone.

“I’m glad.” Spirit said, a ghost of a smile still resting on his lips. “You don’t have to worry about me so much, though. I don’t want you hurting yourself with that small brain.” Spirit teased, attempting to loosen the tension in the air. Of course, he was a hypocrite. Out of everyone, he was the one worrying the most.

Luckily, Stein chuckled, glancing over at his weapon fully, eyes sparking behind his glasses. “Says the one who can’t remember the quadratic formula, write up coding, or put a screw in his head.” The scientist retorted, pointing at the screw to prove his point.

Spirit cringed, shaking his head with a noticeable shudder. “That just proves how stupid you are. A screw? Eesh.” The weapon complained, trying to ignore the memories of how much it must have _hurt_ to do that to anyone, let alone do it to yourself. But, Spirit couldn’t retort about the formula. Stuff like that… Well, it hurt his head with all those complicated formulas and rules.

Stein only smiled, sitting down fully next to Spirit, his hand dropping from Spirit’s shoulder to his side. “It’s not as bad as you think. I would rather do it again than break my arm and almost be sliced in half,” The male murmured, glancing at Spirit’s arm. Even with the madness still hissing through his veins, the guilt hit. His mind was simply turning into an even bigger mess, and nothing could fix it in this moment. Repressing an urge to cringe at the jolts of pain, Stein instead clenched his fist, the one farthest from Spirit, into a tight ball.

“It’s not as bad as you think.” Spirit mocked, dropping the hand that was now awkwardly lifted in the air from Stein moving away. Truthfully, the warmth and reassurance was nice, calming. The orb wasn’t breaking yet, and Spirit was slowly tensing again. He felt restless, simply watching the orb pulse and flash colors. He couldn’t see what was happening, couldn’t know—it was driving him insane.

“Senpai, didn’t I tell you not to worry? Maka can do it. I know she can.” Stein said sternly, ever so carefully reaching an arm around Spirit, gently placing it on his waist, where the bandage was free of, and the skin was uninjured. “Let me be your rock for a while. You don’t have to be strong, not in front of me.” The scientist said simply, eyes directed forward, also focused on the orb. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Spirit. No, that would only fuel the weird feelings more. Spirit was a womanizer, and this madness—it didn’t help the fact that Stein was hopelessly unmatched, and these feelings may just be the death of him. Or so, the death of his sane mind. Medusa left lots of madness, yes, but this feeling, this strange tingle was surprisingly much worse.

It was slow, careful, and warm as Spirit leaned against Stein, letting out a soft laugh. “You haven’t called me that in a while.” The red head murmured, head slowly resting against Stein’s chest, the male’s steady heartbeat filling his ear. It was comforting, the heartbeat, the warmth, the reassurance of his meister. If he had faith in Maka, Spirit should sure as hell support his faith.

Stein’s soft chuckle was enough to make Spirit feel even a little bit better. “Considering the situation we were in, I didn’t think much about my words.” Stein worded it carefully, of course. To mention the madness was to spike the flames inside of him, and of course, Spirit was prone to worry about his madness and mental stability.

Luckily, Spirit didn’t pay much attention to the hidden meaning behind those words. “I suppose that’s true.” The weapon murmured, free arm stretching out to gently grab Stein’s shirt, fiddling with the fabric absentmindedly. Slowly, Spirit let his eyes flutter closed. For that brief moment, the two were in perfect silence and relaxation. Until the orb burst, that was.

 

* * *

 

 

After Maka and the others got out alive, Stein had promptly disappeared. Lord Death was back to fully functioning, and watched over his child carefully for a while. Black Star was calm for a few days, and Maka clung to Soul as his wounds were tended to. She gave her crying father a hug, once, or perhaps twice. Crona was also happy to see the, all okay, and lightened up for the next few days. The Meister Academy underwent large renovations to the destroyed buildings during that time, and Death City had its formal glory restored in a matter of weeks. Even so, Stein was nowhere in sight.

The male had been quick to rush back to his home, gasping and panting for air against the feeling of mind numbing pain and madness. He locked himself up in his home, of course. During that time, Stein suffered. In those weeks, the madness was still there, in the phase of leaving. It took much longer than expected, sadly. The pain was the worst part, though, besides the sudden fits of laughter and madness. The pain struck his head in migraines that left him close to wanting to die, pain that struck his legs and made him tumble to the floor in cold sweats, and pain that made his chest constrict and breathing a wheeze—a struggle. It was during the third week that there was a sudden pounding on his door.

 

* * *

 

 

“Stein! You idiot! You can’t stay in there forever!” Spirit yelled, a frown on his lips. Truthfully, he felt more stupid. Spirit had been too star struck with the sudden attention of others to recognize his meister slipping off. After the first week he realized, but as usual, Lord Death told him to leave Stein alone. On the third week, Spirit was officially paranoid, wanting to visit. Now, he felt guilty.

On the other side of the door, only silence was heard. Of course.

Spirit clicked his tongue in annoyance, twisting the door handle. To his surprise, the stitched front door creaked open, letting the light of day pour into the extremely dark house. The hallway was revealed, the stitched floor and ceiling as hard as ever, Stein nowhere in sight. “If you try to scare me, I’ll kill you!” Spirit yelled nervously, honestly terrified for anything Stein would try to pull. Though, he knew the lies now. Stein wasn’t okay. The idiot. Hesitantly, Spirit let the door fall closed behind him when he stepped in, squinting his blue eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. The male walked briskly into the living room, surveying there. The room was so dark…

Though, something on the couch shifted, and a small noise escaped into the air. For a moment, Spirit was terrified, frozen in spot. Until a cracky voice broke the air, that was.

“Spirit?” Stein mumbled, voice hoarse, from something unknown. The male was curled strangely on the couch, long legs still stretching over the armrest. His glasses were off, folded and placed on the coffee table, green eyes squinting in the dim light to stare weakly at Spirit. Dark circles from lack of sleep hung under his eyes, and his clothes were rumbled against his skin.

Letting out a breath of relief, Spirit stepped forward one step. “You look like shit,” Spirit breathed out, a frown appearing on his lips once again at the sight of his meister.

A soft rumble, presumably a chuckle, left Stein’s lips. “Thanks for pointing it out.” Stein rasped out, shifting slightly on the couch. This time, he wasn’t able to hide the wince of pain from the spark of agony against his spine. Gritting his teeth, Stein let out a weak hiss. As usual, madness and pain was horrible. Stein regretted ever thinking he would get used to the pain. As many times as he told himself it would be over soon, it always came back worse. Life simply wasn’t any fun.

Spirit started to step forward again, faster this time, eyes wide with worry, but sadly—he was stopped by a hand being raised in the air.

“Stop,” Stein said in a hiss of pain. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not stable.” The scientist admitted, slightly frantic, fingers digging into the black and white stitched couch. And god, would Stein never forgive himself if he was to hurt Spirit again. Past experiments, past memories of moments of madness—none of them were pleasant. It wasn’t like he wanted to break down Spirit. No, his madness became too curious. And hell, he still felt guilty.

Spirit stopped, reluctantly, though his frown grew. “You won’t hurt me. You’re weak right now, and my arm is almost fine. You can’t hurt me, Stein.” Spirit tried to tell him, but as usual, Stein protested with a light growl.

“I’ve hurt you before, Senpai. Stay away, please. My brain is going through Hell.” Stein said, digging his short nails deeper into the material on the couch.

This time, Spirit didn’t listen. Instead, the weapon stepped closer, scowl appearing on his lips. “Exactly. Look, Stein. You were with me when Maka was in danger. You ad madness then, right? You could have crushed me instantly. You didn’t though. You won’t now, either.” Spirit protested, now stepping directly in front of the couch, hand reaching out to press against Stein’s face, brushing the hair from his forehead, palm pressed against his hot skin. “Besides, you have a fever, idiot.”

Stein opened his mouth to protest at the words, but simply couldn’t. The touch was cool and nice against his feverish skin. Sadly, he had to admit—Spirit did have a point. His brain knew that; the sensible part, anyways. The wave of madness was quick to return again, brushing past his nerves, the man twitching slightly. It hurt, having his thoughts scrambled like that. “Spirit, twist the screw. Twice,” Stein ordered, gritting his teeth again.

Of course, Spirit was horrified for a moment. To do that to his meister… However, seeing the desperate look of pain on the struggling man’s face, Spirit gulped, nodding slightly. Reluctantly, the male lifted his hand to gently touch the giant screw, slowly cranking it. Once, with a click. Spirit cringed. Twice, with another click. Stein twitched, and Spirit shuddered, blue eyes wide.

“Will you be fine alone, if I get you something to cool down your fever?” Spirit asked, but instantly felt like an idiot once again, from the logic popping up, and the look Stein sent him. “Never mind. I’ll be right back,” Spirit said sheepishly. Right. Stein had been alone for three weeks, and he was still mostly functioning. Mostly.

Though, Spirit was quick regardless of the logic he knew. It wasn’t right, having Stein suffer like that. The smaller part of his brain screamed out something else though—that Stein looked pretty damn nice without his glasses on, all tired looking. Though, Spirit tried to ignore that part of his mind. The man did dissections on him in the past, how could he be cute? Though, the memories of the two cuddling quickly popped up. Grumbling under his breath, flushed, Spirit walked into the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth, quickly running it under the cold water, before turning the water off again, and ringing out some of the freezing water.

Turning out of the bathroom, shoes gently clicking against the hard floor, Spirit briskly walked back into the living room, where Stein was still sprawled out on the couch, fists clenched at his sides. Frowning ever so slightly, again, Spirit approached the silver haired male once again, gazing down at him. Stein looked to be in so much pain… It was horrible to see. And this time, Spirit couldn’t deny that thought.

The red haired male sighed, gently laying the cold washcloth against the other’s forehead, meeting the weary stare from green eyes once again. “Stein,” Spirit started, but was cut off by his own gasp. Stein had a hand gripping Spirit’s tie now, tugging the male closer to him. For a second, Spirit was struck with horror. Did the mad Stein pretend to play sick? Was he going to be dissected again? Shit, would he ever return home?

He wasn’t expecting the words that left Stein’s lifts, and the strange lack of mad smiles, mad laughing, or the presence of a scalpel.

“Stay.” Stein said simply, voice hoarse and strained, fingers curling tighter into Spirit’s tie. His green eyes flittered away, unfocused for a moment, before staring directly into his weapons once again. It was his mind this time, the small vulnerable piece that was barely ever seen. Spirit’s presence, the lack of madness—it was soothing, and strangely, it was helping the pain.

Spirit gulped, slightly, and met Stein’s stare. “I was planning on it.” Spirit said simply, with a breathy laugh. “Did you really think I was going to let you suffer in here, alone? I’m here to bug you, obviously.” The weapon murmured. And geez, Spirit could have burst into a dance of happiness from the sudden look of relaxation on Stein’s face. It was surprising, seeing Stein like this. Spirit wasn’t complaining though, this was nice.

Stein let out a soft sigh, suddenly tugging Spirit’s tie even closer, to the point where the red head was almost bent over completely. Spirit made another sound of surprise, of course, but Stein was already planning to silence him. Hesitantly, the scientist tilted his chin up, meeting Spirit’s lips with his own in a soft, slow, sweet kiss. Spirit was still for a moment, probably in shock, until finally—the red head kissed back. Spirit’s heart was pounding hard in his chest, of course. Stein was calmer than Spirit, but hell, his brain certainly wasn’t calm. Spirit was the first to extend a hand this time, placing it gently on Stein’s warm cheek, deepening the kiss between the two. Stein felt vulnerable like this, having Spirit lean over him. Then again, Spirit was feeling the same time. Even so, the two were silent, content, kissing quietly and gently, with Stein clinging to his weapons tie like he believed would lose him if he let go, and Spirit cradling Stein’s cheek like he was ever so precious to him. Both of their statements were true in their minds. Stein didn’t want the madness to take away Spirit from him, not again. His hand tightened, tugged closer, and Spirit obliged, reaching out his other hand to stabilize himself against the armrest, so he wouldn’t topple into the scientist. Not that Stein would mind, but, he didn’t risk it.

Sadly, both of their lungs were crying out for the need of air. Parting with a slight gasp, Spirit gazed down at Stein, eyes slightly wider than normal once again. Stein could only stare back, sucking in the air deeply, lips parted, tinted red from all the kisses.

Spirit was the first to speak, cheeks heated and light pink. “Oi, could you let go of my tie? I don’t want to fall on you.” The weapon murmured, embarrassed. Truthfully, his heart was still racing, pounding like a jack rabbit in a cage.

Stein seemed reluctant at first, staring at Spirit hesitantly, before slowly, his fingers uncurled from the fabric, his arm dropping back to his side. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. You can leave if you want.” Stein suddenly blurted, internally cringing. It was weird, wasn’t it? Kissing your weapon. Not to mention, Spirit was straight, wasn’t he? Why the hell had he kissed back? Pity?

Spirit scowled, almost immediately. “I know your brain is scrambled, but are you that stupid? I wanted you to. And, I’m not leaving.” Spirit declared stubbornly, cheeks only heating more. God, he felt like a school girl in grade-school. Pathetic.

Stein blinked, before letting out a soft, raspy laugh. “I suppose I am stupid. Like I said, my mind’s in Hell.” The silver haired male replied, shifting, with a flinch, on the couch.

This time, Spirit didn’t hesitant to answer. “I’ll follow you to Hell, if I can hold your hand.” The weapon felt bold, a warmth rushing through him as he knelt down by the couch, hand extended, blue eyes swimming with the strange emotions once again.

Stein didn’t object. Wordlessly, the male entwined their fingers together, green and blue eyes connected, not wavering, even as Spirit brushed hair from Stein’s face again, murmuring something about him needing a haircut. Stein didn’t even object to that. The mad scientist simply smiled, trying to get used to the weird feeling in his heart, and how a normal smile felt on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Come cry over anime with me on Tumblr. ( http://levi-friggin-ackerman.tumblr.com/ )
> 
> Or, come cry over anime with me on Instagram. ( @TrashyIzaya )
> 
> Comments and Kudo's always welcome and very appreciated! As always, constructive criticism is very welcome! Thank you very much for the read, and I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> NOTE: If you want a fanfiction written, please contact me on Tumblr! This link shows all the things I write.
> 
> ( https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wvJJ2uEMYDuAcbej4-10B82VyUoSgtpPTvqRNdv95so/edit?usp=sharing )


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